At the time of writing, the NHL’s Florida Panthers held a commanding 3-0 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the league’s playoffs.
While this isn’t unusual, what is quite amazing is how different the Panthers’ world looked only two weeks ago. On Sunday, April 23, Florida was down three games to one in the first round of the playoffs against the Boston Bruins. Yes, the Boston Bruins, who had set the single-season NHL record for both wins (65) and points (135), and were by far the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this year. Any way you want to put it, Florida was hanging on for their playoff lives.
However, somehow, the Panthers managed to win three in a row, pulling off perhaps the biggest first-round upset in NHL history. The team was riding high when they went into Toronto to face the Leafs, who had just made the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. The Air Canada Centre wasn’t exactly a welcoming environment for Florida. And how did they respond? They walked out of Toronto with a 2-0 lead and added a third win on home ice over the weekend. In the process, the Panthers have held the Toronto’s top four players without a goal for three games.
The key lesson young athletes can take from the Panthers is that even when things seem impossible, when there is no point in going on, never give up. Yes, sports should be about having fun, but it doesn’t mean playing is it will be easy. Sports can be challenging, and it can be tempting to give up when we do not succeed right away. But by never giving up, athletes can reach their true potential.
Another great example of this is Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. For years, the urban legend was that MJ was cut from his high school basketball team, but in recent years, it appears he was actually placed on the junior varsity team. However, the fact remains if Jordan had let this stop him from pursuing his dream, who knows how NBA history would have been changed?
Even if the Panthers do not win the Stanley Cup, they were able to come back from the brink of elimination and inject a little bit of life into their season. This is a result of never giving up.
